I always get really excited about fall, because for me that means it’s fall show season. Now don’t get me wrong I love just being out in the pasture with my cattle or riding in the feed truck, but there is something about the showring – or maybe there is something about the people. 

 This fall I will bounce from the American Royal in Kansas City to the North American in Louisville and finally to Western Canadian Agribition in Regina, Saskatchewan, and at each place I will reconnect with people in ways that you can’t on Facebook or Twitter. The communication that happens on a showbox or the wash rack is what creates true bonds. They are the original social network.

Right before I left for the Royal I came across an awesome article in The Showtimes magazine, called "Original Social Network," by Kassi Bauman. Kassi makes a great point in her story - that like so many of us on an average day she can be found, "Facebooking, Tweeting, texting, streaming Netflix movies, emailing and Googling or any combination thereof..." but, "I’ve found that nothing’s better than connecting with the original social network--my Charolais family--every summer at Junior Nationals."

The people I have met on the show road are truly some of my best friends, even through we might only see each other a couple times a year. They get me, they get my passions, and even though they may live in another state or another country for that matter, if I ever needed anything they would be the first people there.

It will be a few days that I can power down the laptop, leave my camera at home, put the cell phone on silent and connect face to face.